SPRING INTO SUMMER5 simple ways to transform your wellbeing for the season ahead.

Spring is in the air and summer is on the horizon. We’re waking up to longer, lighter days, filled with energy and promise.

But many of us don’t feel ready for what summer holds - ready for the beach or park, ready to squeeze into that summer top again.

This is when we leap for a gruelling diet or exercise routine that often leaves us feeling exhausted, weak and unfulfilled.

When what we really need is to feel a sense of calm and wellness that boosts our energy, reduces our stress, and enables us to look and feel great for the season ahead.

So how do we do that?

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PUT THE SPRING IN YOUR STEP

There’s no radical diets or extreme workouts here.

Just five quick and easy daily measures that fit effortlessly into your life.

Ancient Chinese philosophy offers a holistic approach that’s very different to our Western way of thinking.

Here at Hayo’u we’ve redefined this ancient wisdom for modern life - helping your mind and body feel replenished, restored, glowing and balanced.

Let’s get going.

HIGH FIVE TO SUMMER

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Looking great for summer is a big motivation for many of us to improve our health.

All too often this is in the form of sudden dieting or bouts of intense exercise. However, what is less understood is that the healthier we are, the more beautiful we look, too. This is never more true than with our skin.

Chinese medicine tells us that skin problems have their roots in digestive issues.

Stress also diverts blood away from the skin and into the muscles, draining vital oxygen and nutrients.

So what can we do to have healthy looking skin?

MAKE YOUR SKIN GLOW1

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Get the glow with Gua sha

Take a moment to use this self-massage technique to enliven your skin, release deeply-held tension and refresh your mind.

The massage ritual uses a jade face tool to press and stroke the contours of your face to encourage circulation, boost collagen and give you a brighter, more radiant complexion.

The great thing is you can get the benefits of Gua sha from only a minute’s practice.

Find out more

 

MAKE YOUR SKIN GLOW1

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Summer wouldn’t be summer without that nagging feeling that you need to get your body beach ready - even if that just means feeling comfortable in your summer wardrobe.

But losing weight doesn’t have to all be about calories, frenetic exercise and depriving yourself.

In traditional Chinese medicine, it’s not just about what you eat, but how you eat and how you’re feeling at the time.

DITCH THE DIET2

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Eat well

What you eat matters. Avoid the four whites: flour, dairy, salt, sugar. Sugar is hugely inflammatory, so a disaster for dieters. Cutting down on sugar is the biggest single thing you can do to achieve your weight loss goals.

Enjoy a balanced diet that contains what Chinese medicine calls the five tastes - bitter, sweet, salty, sour and spicy - and five colours - red, yellow, white, black and green. Fats - especially sesame oil - are vital to carrying toxins out the body and cleansing the liver, kidneys and lungs.

It’s also good to drink green tea throughout the day to boost metabolism and dissolve excess fat.

DITCH THE DIET2

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Eat right

But don’t be afraid to feel hungry - it’s a natural cycle of digestion.

Ao Ying, a famous Chinese doctor, said that ‘Man should endure 30% hunger and 70% fullness.’ So as a rule it’s best not to snack between meals.

Eat slower, with smaller portions on the plate. And stay at the table for 20 minutes after finishing. This all aids digestion, helping you to get the most from your food.

Eat happy

Emotions can play havoc with your digestive system. Anxiety and stress divert circulation away from vital digestive processes. So making meals joyful and meaningful experiences will do wonders for our health and wellbeing.

A good way to do this is put food in the middle of the table to create a sense of abundance and sharing. After all, eating should be a pleasure you, your family and friends enjoy together.

DITCH THE DIET2

Take time to look and appreciate your food. This helps you to relax and also produce saliva, which contains vital enzymes for digestion.

Food for thought

• Start your meal feeling hungry

• Look at your food to increase saliva

• Cut out the four whites - sugar, flour, salt, sugar

• Eat a balance of tastes and colours

• Stress hampers your digestion

• Make meals joyful.

DITCH THE DIET2

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Sleep is a medicine.

A good dose of deep sleep has an incredible impact on our health and wellbeing - regenerating, recovering and replenishing body and mind.

On the other hand, shallow sleep impedes this mechanism of balance and healing in the body. This impacts everything from our fitness and weight to how quickly we age.

Feeling stressed affects our ability to sleep in many ways. Stress leads to poor circulation and chronic inflammation, which inhibits the body’s ability to heal, leaving us feeling tired and sluggish.

This is where traditional Chinese philosophy, redefined for today, can have a profound effect.

SLEEP DEEPER3

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And breathe

Stress plays havoc with our sleep. Relaxing during the day will help get your body primed for the night ahead. A great way to relax the body and calm your stress levels is to do breathing exercises during the day.

Our Rescue Breath Ritual is a simple, yet effective, technique to switch the nervous system into its rest phase and override the feelings of stress.

Find out more

SLEEP DEEPER3

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Reset the body

Good circulation helps us to replenish our body when we sleep. The best way to improve our circulation is to make positive steps in the daytime to stop stress in its tracks and reset the flow of energy - or Qi - round our body.

A great technique for this is our Reset Ritual which involves shaking, drumming and twisting for a minute to boost flagging energy and prepare our bodies for sleep later on. Do it with another routine, like making a cup of tea, and you’ll find it easy to fit it into your day. This will also help with your exercise goals.

Find out more

SLEEP DEEPER3

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Restorative bath

A good soak in a hot bath before bed can do wonders for your wellbeing - washing away everyday stresses and strains.

But this just skims the surface of the transformative power of bathing. Using the right minerals, breathing techniques and fluctuations in water temperature, can leave you feeling deeply replenished, restored and ready for a nourishing sleep

Discover our bathing rituals

Steps to better sleep

• Stress stops us getting a deep, regenerative sleep

• Breathing techniques switch the body into rest phase

• Improving your circulation is crucial for more restorative sleep.

• A bathing ritual is great for preparing you for sleep.

SLEEP DEEPER3

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Exercise doesn’t have to be a heart-thumping, lung-busting affair down the gym.

In fact, excessive exercise can actually sabotage your health goals - creating stress and leading you to store fat - the exact opposite of what you hoped for after that vigorous workout on the cross-trainer.

Studies now show that a few minutes’ gentle exercise every day is all you need to trigger the release of endorphins, increase your metabolism, strengthen organs and oxygenate the blood.

So choose mild forms of exercise like yoga and Qi Gong to relax your body and mind, easing the stresses of daily life. Whatever you do, make sure it’s something you enjoy doing.

Another great tip is to relax your body before and after exercise, to maximise its benefits and reduce its adrenaline-pumping consequences. Our one minute Reset Ritual is the perfect way to do just that.

Find out more

EXERCISE WITHOUT EFFORT4

Points to remember

• Gentle exercise is great for you

• Excessive exercise causes stress, which stores fat

• Do short bursts of low-intensity activity throughout the day

• Choose something you love to do

• Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong and even walking all work wonders

• Use our Reset Ritual to bookend your workout.

EXERCISE WITHOUT EFFORT4

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The Chinese approach to health and wellbeing is to treat the mind and body as a whole.

Science is now revealing what Chinese medicine has believed for thousands of years - that stress causes inflammation.

And it’s this inflammation that directly impacts our immune system and our entire health. In fact, it’s the root cause of many major illnesses. Which is why it’s so important to maintain a calm, relaxed state.

So stress is making us physically ill.

Aside from the steps we’ve already mentioned, what else can we do about it?

The power of Gua sha

The easiest, most efficient way to alleviate stress is to clear inflammation by practising Gua sha - a simple self-healing technique, widely practised in China for thousands of years.

RELEASE STRESS5

Performing Gua sha

This is simply a series of press-strokes on your face and body using a smooth-edged instrument known as a Gua sha tool. It can be done in a matter of minutes, yet the effect can be profound - studies show it increases microcirculation, boosts immunity and reduces inflammation.

Find out more

In a nutshell

• Stress is bad news for your health

• It creates inflammation and impacts immunity

• There is a way to manage the effects of stress

• Reap the health benefits of one-minute daily Gua sha.

RELEASE STRESS5

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We all have an ambition to look and feel healthier and happier.

Here at Hayo’u we’ve distilled thousands of years of ancient Chinese wisdom into simple one-minute rituals, that help release stress from your body and mind.

These rituals have been created and refined by our founder and resident Chinese medical practitioner - Katie - to help us live calmer, healthier and more balanced lives.

A stress-free summer

To get you going, we’re sending you a 10-day stress-busting plan, showing you how Katie’s rituals can help relax your body, boost circulation and clear inflammation.

Leaving you looking and feeling your best for the summer ahead. And all the seasons to follow.

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A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER YOU.

master your health